


Six Sighted Point of View

by Irisinger



Series: U.S.S. Discovery : Mission Two: Colony in Peril. [1]
Category: Star Trek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-15
Updated: 2011-07-15
Packaged: 2017-10-21 10:02:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/223959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Irisinger/pseuds/Irisinger





	Six Sighted Point of View

TITLE: A six sighted point of view  
CURRENT MISSION: Colony in Peril  
STARDATE: 49803.06  
CHARACTERS: Chelsey Keaton, Chief Medical Officer; Joan O'Connell Commanding Officer; Lavik, Engineering Officer; Karlock,Chief Security Officer; Arik Keaton, StarFleet Command; Fluffer.

NOTES: Fluffer is a neutered tribble. Tribbles are rare having been almost totally exterminated by the Klingons 80 years ago. Neutered tribbles continue to grow in size since they do not divide their bulk in reproduction.

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Six sets of eyes buried beneath the fur scanned the corridor. Two sets closed immediately... they were for nocturnal scavenging and it was too bright. One set was infrared another set ultraviolet. That left two sets which saw in what humans called normal light. {food food food} its thoughts were on sustenance. Feeling the deck beneath its suckered feet vibrate the tribble climbed the wall then onto the ceiling. It would have a better chance to scavenge for food if the furless ones left it alone.

Crawling along the ceiling it soon smelled green food. It had been a long time since it had fresh green food. Crawling down from the ceiling and across the part of the wall that always made the wall move, it then quickly as possible (which when motivated, could be quite fast) moved into the room before the wall closed again.

Scanning the room with eyes and smelling antennae it located the green food on a partition in the room. It even had sweet blossoms.

~~**~~**~~

Joan entered the ready room, tired. She had a lot on her mind including revising the ships handbook which each captain authored to let the crew have written notification of specific rules and regs required by the Commanding Officer. She took a deep breath as she entered the room, her Acturian orchids were blooming and the scent was almost intoxicating. Glancing in the direction of her orchids what she expected to see and what she _did_ see where two different things. Where her magnificent blooms should be was instead shredded rubble and in the midst of that was the biggest tribble she had ever seen in her life! That is all she needed, a tribble infestation on _her_ ship.

The Captain exited the ready room and stalked onto the bridge. "Karlock! I need to see you in the ready room NOW."

~~**~~**~~

Two sets of eyes looked up, eye stalks extended above the fur quivering. The furless one was hostile. Time to leave. Moving as fast as it was possible the basketball sized tribble hurried out into the corridor and up onto the ceiling again. Traveling far faster than most beings believed it could, the tribble entered another room close by. It sensed safety from the hostile furless ones behind it. Scenting the air she recognized the being who occupied this room. It was the strange one that had a tang of the "predator" but did not look or behave like a "predator".

~~**~~**~~

Karlock followed the Captain into the ready room and she immediately noticed the damaged plants. She was ordered to respond to what sounded like an emergency and it was over a few damaged plants!!! Glancing at the new Captain she squint her eyes. This was highly illogical.

"Karlock, we have a loose tribble on this ship, we must have picked it up on Space dock. Now where there is one tribble, there is certain to be more. We need to conduct a search and find out the extent of the problem. I want you to work with Science and Engineering to rid the ship of these vermin.'

"We have a resident tribble aboard ship ma'am." Karlock said with quiet reserve. "It is neutered and belongs to Commander Keaton. Would you like me to contact her first?"

"Never mind Karlock... as you were. I will have a little talk with her myself." the Captain said as she tapped her commbadge. "Commander Keaton, I would like to see you in my ready room immediately concerning a certain 'pet' of yours."

~~**~~**~~

It was dark in the room so it extended its infrared eyes and scanned this room. No green food in sight, but the scent of the predator was more than its instinct could handle and it emitted a warning chirp, and then another.

Lavik came awake suddenly. Something was definitely in her quarters, and with so many new people on board, she wasn't about to take any chances.

She reached for her personal phaser, and quickly checked the setting, relieved to see it was on the lowest. She quietly rolled out of bed, and moved towards the living area. The light was minimal, and she could barely see anything.

Suddenly, an object moved out from behind a chair. Without thinking, Lavik  
fired.

"Lights!" she called, and nearly fell over herself laughing when she saw the object that was unconscious on her floor.

She got dressed quickly, and picked up the tribble. After asking the computer where she could find Chelsey, she quickly set off for the ready room.

~~**~~**~~

Chelsey was beside herself looking for that blasted tribble. Fluffer was good at hiding and far more intelligent than most people gave him credit for. She was halfway to the hydroponics bay when she received a call from the captain interrupting her search. "Oh great!" she muttered dreading the worst. Entering the ready room Chelsey noticed immediately the damage Fluffer had caused.

Hiding a smile behind her hand, she offered her apology. "Oh Captain, I am so sorry... is he still in here?"

"No Commander, he is not." The captains green eyes were hard and flinty, and Chelsey mentally chastised herself for letting this happen. This was not the way she'd hoped to begin her relationship with her new captain. It seemed they were destined to get off on the wrong foot.

All seriousness now the CMO tried her best to salvage the situation. "Look, I'm terribly sorry about what's happened; he escaped before I could reprogram the wall sensor to ignore him. Can I get you a new plant or something?"

Captain O'Connell sighed. "No." Her voice indicated a barely submerged anger that seemed out of all proportion with the cause. "I've asked engineering to track down your 'pet'. They're preparing to scan the ship for him. We'll soon know where he's hiding." Walking over to her desk she picked up the PADD she had been working on, with the file still on the screen. "I've been thinking about the place of pets on the ship in general..."

Chelsey's heart sank, and a cold fire began to burn deep inside her. Surely she couldn't be about to outlaw pets or anything? That would be a hugely unpopular move, and she had wouldn't dare try and throw _Fluffer_ off the ship, that would be inhumane.

Handing Chelsey the PADD she continued... "I've just drafted a couple of rules about pets, I'd like you to look at them and give me your comments. As a pet owner, Commander, I'd like to get your input."

Taking the PADD Chelsey scanned it quickly. It read:

\--From 'USS Discovery - Ship's Manual' - Second Draft, 49803.03--

Pets:

Having a pet aboard the Discovery is a privilege, not a right. As a pet owner, it is up to you to ensure that your pet does not have a negative impact on others aboard ship. The Discovery is a small, confined environment. Think carefully about the needs of your pet and the needs of the ship's community before bringing a pet on board.

Pets that are considered to represent a significant danger to the ship or its personnel are not permitted. If you are uncertain on this point, you should contact the ship's Security Department.

All pets aboard the USS Discovery are to be registered with Ship's Security. Pets will be fitted with a sub-dermal microchip locator, to permit their movement through the ship to be monitored. In the case of a lost pet, you should refer to the Security Department. If you are uncertain about the safety or suitability of sub dermal microchips with your pet, consult the Medical Department.

The registered owner of a pet is responsible for its conduct at all times. The owner is responsible for any damage caused by their pet, and is answerable to any complaints about their pet. Complaints about pets should be referred to the Ship's Security Department.

Doors, Turbo lifts and Access Hatches are to be programmed not to respond to pets. Pets are permitted in non public areas such as the Rec Hall, the Bridge or Engineering _only_ with the permission of the officer responsible. When in doubt, consider it as give that your pet is _not_ allowed in an area unless you have received specific permission.

Pets are kept subject to all relevant Starfleet General Orders. It is the owner's responsibility to prove that their pet is non sentient, and that holding it does not contravene General Order 20 on slavery, if required. Uncertainty on this point should be referred to the Ship's Science Department.

\---End of File---

Commander Keaton looked up at the new CO and smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes. The damn woman wanted Fluffer tagged and leashed. Handing the PADD back to the Captain, Chelsey nodded her head and responded as expected. "Yes Ma'am, as soon as that renegade furball is caught he will be tagged with a transponder." As she turned to leave she muttered under her breath "...surprised I wasn't given 30 lashes by Madam Bligh."

Turning at the words muttered from her CMO Joan O'Connell could not believe what she thought she had heard. "What was that Commander?" she demanded before Chelsey had made it all the way to the door.

"Oh I just said that Pet _leashes_ will be necessary by and by... “She said with a smile.

"Ah... ok. Yes they will. Good point. I will add that to the manual." Accepting what Commander Keaton had said and satisfied that things were being taken care of Joan sat down in an exhausted slump as her Chief Medical Officer exited the ready room.

~~**~~**~~

By the time Chelsey had returned to her quarters Karlock and Lavik were both standing at her door, and Karlock had Fluffer under one arm petting him. He was purring up a storm so Chelsey knew the tribble had come to no harm.

"I presume this fugitive belongs to you?" Karlock said with what constituted Vulcan humor.

"ummm" Chelsey muttered glaring evilly at the furball, squirming in Karlock's grasp. "Where did you find him?"

"In my quarters!" Lavik said "He came mighty close to becoming little more than a darkened spot on the carpet. Woke me up out of a sound sleep."

Chelsey smiled at the first officer’s comment. It was probably a close reality. "Well while you got a hold of him why don't you just carry that little beastie down to sickbay so I can see if it is even possible to put in a subdural transponder that he won't eject from his body at first chance. It is obvious our Captain knows nothing about tribbles."

~~**~~**~~

Joan sighed as she snipped away the damaged sections of her orchids, cutting as far away from the growing points as possible. Luckily the marauder had been stopped before he reached the base of the plants, and of course the bulbs were untouched.

She sprayed the exposed surfaces with a specially prepared antibiotic spray. Acturian Orchids were notoriously susceptible to infection, which was one of the reasons for the sealed atmosphere control unit.

The other was to mimic Actaurus Nine's unusual seasonal patterns. Right now the orchids were in their autumn phase, and the temperatures were roughly equivalent to ship's norms. The autumn blooms were more colorful than the spring ones, and more fragrant. They were the female flowers, the male blooms in spring providing the pollen. In nature, fertilization was carried out by the na...

With a sigh Joan shook her head interupting her thoughs, and concentrated on the task at hand. The plants represented five years of care and attention. They were rare and delicate, to say nothing of valuable. It could be hard to make people understand that.

She snipped away the last of the damage and sprayed the antibiotic generously over all. With any luck that would limit the destruction. The blooms were gone though, only a few immature buds remained.

With another sigh she got the transparent aluminum dome that covered the terrarium and set it in place. There was no fragrance now, so there was no reason to leave it open. She tapped the environmental control panel and frowned. Maybe she could bring winter forward a few weeks.

In four or five months she would have the delicate spring blossoms to look forward to.

~~**~~**~~

Chelsey look angrily at the man on the screen. "...she is rude, insensitive, unimaginative, and an animal hater to boot. I can't believe you actually _chose_ this woman as your replacement."

"She has an outstanding record, and engenders loyalty from her crew. Give her a chance to settle in." Commodore Arik Keaton replied to his wife's comment. "Besides, Fluffer and YOU were at fault were you not?"

"That is beside the point. I thought for sure she was going to have him spaced! She cannot control every little thing that happens on a starship. It is not feasible. Accidents happen. She needs to develop some flexibility. And it is impossible to implant a subdural transponder in a tribble. They eject them from their body in seconds. How am I supposed to obey _that_ order! "

Arik laughed. He knew that his wife was just venting, and given their personality profiles the two women would probably become trusted friends in time. They were a lot alike, which is what had caused the friction to begin with.

"I have no idea how she will react when she finds out that I am intelligence operative and will have responsibilities and duties beyond her authority and control. Wonder how she will deal with the fact that I have a security clearance higher than anything she will ever achieve."

"Chels... you have a higher security clearance than even _I_ will ever have. I think you had best go broach the topic with her before she starts to suspect something is up when incoming communications are sealed against her view."

"I am going to wait till Madam Bligh realizes that she is not in control of everything." Chelsey said laughing. "Besides I haven't been given the clearance, to discuss my status with her, by Admiral Weston yet. She will just have to remain in the dark until I know at what level she is allowed to be informed of my activities."

Arik shook his head. His wife was stubborn. Too stubborn by half. "Just don't go trying your standard tricks on _this_ captain, dear."

Chelsey looked at her husband in mock amazement! "Arik my love, you _know_ that I am monogamous!"

Laughing, Arik Keaton changed the subject, and asked after his teenage daughter. They were only away from him for 4 days and already he was missing their company terribly.


End file.
